A fortnight ago, tens of thousands of members of the Ahmadi Muslim community gathered in the historic English market town of Alton. They were there for an annual conference. This year, the community was also marking the centenary of its presence in Britain. As far back as 1926, the Ahmadis established London’s first mosque. In countries as diverse as Canada and South Africa, there are similar events that take place throughout the year. But the one country where Ahmadis aren’t …
ISLAMABAD – Law-enforcement agencies foiled another attempt to assassinate former president Pervez Musharraf and arrested seven suspects from Islamabad in the wee hours of Saturday. Officials said the suspects belonged to a banned militant organisation Lashker-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). The intelligence agencies facilitated police to arrest them. According to details, law enforcement agencies on a tip -off arrested seven militants from different areas of the federal capital.
A man was forced to abandon his woodworking business and flee Gujranwala with his family after his erstwhile friends and neighbours discovered that he was an Ahmadi. Imran Ahmed, 35, started out as a daily wager at a woodwork shop in Gujranwala. He saved up money for three years, then invested Rs100,000 in machinery and setting up his own workshop. As his business grew, he hired two carpenters to work for him. “Things were going really well, but nobody knew …
A man belonging to Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Zahoor Ahmed Kiyani, 46, was shot dead along with his Sunni neighbour Noorul Wahid in Mujahid Colony area of Orangi Town. The police officials said that the deceased was sitting outside the house with his neighbour, when at least two armed men on a motorcycle came came up-close and shot him multiple times. When the neighbour ran after the culprits to stop them from escaping, they shot him dead too.The bodies were taken …
Pakistan has seemingly ensured that no Ahmedi demographic, including the dead, are spared the harsh reminder that they do not belong “That looks very biblical,” I said out loud while approaching the place Ahmedis call their sanctuary, Rabwa. Incidentally, the name of the city was changed by the state to Chenabnagar, because Rabwa translated to ‘land of God’ and divinity and its access was prohibited for Ahmedis. I wanted to observe what is it like for them living banished in …
On July 11, the first day of Ramazan, a group of Sunnis beat up the Ahmedis and kicked them out of the Mosque, telling them not to return, according to members of the Ahmadi community. The Ahmedis filed a complaint with the police for the registration of an FIR against the assailants. The police did not register a case, nor heeded their request for protection. Instead, they sealed the Mosque, which is located on a four-marla plot, “because of concerns …
An Ahmadi SOLDIER who died fighting the Taliban in the Tirah Valley was buried in Rabwah with full military honors. Qaiser Naveed Bhatti, 24 of Chak 23 District Nankana died in a firefight with the the Taliban in Tirah Valley. His body was taken to his hometown by Captain Deedar Baig from where it was brought to Rabwah where he was buried with full military honors. Naveed Bhatti had got married three months ago. Pakistani Army has been battling Taliban …
Pakistan’s television wars have plumbed new depths in the battle for Ramadan ratings with the country’s most controversial presenter giving away abandoned babies on his prime-time show. Aamir Liaquat Hussain has presented two babies to childless couples so far during Islam’s holy month. His show’s heady mix of charity, piety and kitsch has made it a hit with viewers but also attracted accusations that he is using religion to generate headlines. In an episode broadcast last week, Mr Hussain shocked …
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia would send imams, one each from Masjidul Haram in Makkah and Masjid-i-Nabawi in Madina, to Pakistan every year. Talking to visiting Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Mohammed Yousaf, President of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais made the announcement. He said this was being done to promote ties between the two countries. He said that King Abdullah attached great importance to Pakistan and its people.
Panelists at a religious freedom session on Pakistan called for reform of the nation’s laws, calling the situation for minorities dire. In June alone, 47 religious minorities were killed in Pakistan, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The victims included an 18-year old Christian man tortured to death by police after he was suspected of kidnapping a Muslim woman, the commission said. “Basic law enforcement and legal reform are desperately needed,” Knox Thames, director of policy and …
As I looked at Dr Salam’s tombstone, I felt a pang of guilt and shame at what we have done to the Ahmadis in Pakistan. We have abolished their religious freedom and in the process our own The disgusting manner in which Malala Yousafzai has been targeted by a section of our society recently is upsetting but unsurprising. It is a bit of a local tradition, it seems, to abuse those who do something for the hapless people in this …
American Muslim author releases landmark book to put an end to the Taliban & Islamic terrorism The Wrong Kind of Muslim is a call to unite those of all faiths and of no faith in the struggle for universal freedom of conscience. Since 9/11, terrorists in Pakistan have killed over 40,000—and counting. Often risking his own life, Qasim Rashid journeys into the heart of that terrorism to unearth the untold story of those silenced by Taliban suicide bombings, secret police …